Music notation on digital audio

F

fkoliveira

New member
Don't know if this is the right forum to put this questions, but I'll give it a try.
I've been using Sonar 2.0 XL for a couple of months and I'm starting to get some good results. But there's one thing I want to do that I dunno if Sonar is capable of doing so or even if there's another software that can:
as I record digital audio (my guitar for example) I want the soft to write the music notation just like when recording MIDI, including notes, tempos and key signatures.
Is there a way to do that?

Thanks,
Fernando
 
...it's easier said than done, and it's not an exact science. You can use a program like "Finale" to have the program automatically notate for you. Thing is...

1) You'll probably have to fix a lot of "assumptions" it makes
2) You can only notate single notes, not chords. Sax, vocals, or bass is fine. Piano chords or guitar chords (or any chords) won't work. As far as I know, the technology just doesn't exist yet. They utillze similar technology that's used for tuners. Two notes at a time, just don't work.
 
I didn't even know that that technology existed. I have had to manually write different parts out, or at least play them on keyboard. Pain in the ass, but really has helped my composition and sight reading skills and understand the song better.

Another option for guitar could be that you invest in a guitar synth, and while recording the audio, plug into midi. You will likely get some glitches, and maybe some sync or latency problems, but it will get it in there. You can go the roland/axon/gobin/fender route, or the parker, brian moore routes.

I have been thinking about this, but haven't been that impressed with the keyboard end of it -- notes are off by 32nd or 64th notes and i end up having to modify or manually fix it. Though, I think there are some settings in Sonar that help you with this. For example, for writing manually I want high resolution so when I write a 16th note, i see a 16th note. But this resolution wreaks havoc when recording a midi performance.
 
..now that's an even better idea. I used to have an old Roland GS-1, and MIDI was impossible (there was a different MIDI channel for each string ....ugh..), but I've heard they've come a long way since then. Definitely worth looking into.
 
adam said:
I
I have been thinking about this, but haven't been that impressed with the keyboard end of it -- notes are off by 32nd or 64th notes and i end up having to modify or manually fix it. Though, I think there are some settings in Sonar that help you with this. For example, for writing manually I want high resolution so when I write a 16th note, i see a 16th note. But this resolution wreaks havoc when recording a midi performance.
Click to expand...

You need to use the Quantization function in Sonar. The help files do a good job of explaining how it works.
 
Thanks. I haven't had much luck with quantizing, but it probably is b/c i'm doing something wrong. Also, there is a view option which rounds notes off that helps too.
 
The thing about this is, like Seanmorse79 said above, you'll find you have to fix a lot by yourself and it is pretty much limited to monophonic parts. But to fix it yourself you need to be able to know how to fix it... which implies that you need to know notation well enough to manage this...

... at this point you might suspect that it's probably a better use of your time to develop transcribing chops and just do it yourself. Wha's more, after you do you can do what the software can't -- recognize the harmonies -- not to mention all the good things having this skill developed will do for your playing. I am currently going through it myself, taking an ear training and basic musicianship class. You can probably find this at almost any community college, and there are online training tools too...
 
You've got three options.
1. http://www.akoff.com/
AKoff Music Composer Version 2.0 ($29)
"AKoff Music Composer is music recognition software which performs Wave to Midi conversion. Composer recognizes polyphonic music from microphone (other Wave input or file) and converts it into Midi sequences. You can sing, whistle or play guitar, piano, flute and so on into your microphone, Composer will automatically recognize and score your music and create standard Midi sequences. Neither a Midi keyboard nor any musical experience are required to compose music. "
2. http://www.intelliscore.net/
"IntelliScore ($65) is a wav to midi converter for live performance, making midi files, transcribing music, and finding chord names from polyphonic wave and mp3 files.
Polyphonic. IntelliScore listens to polyphonic wav and mp3 music and helps figure out the notes, chord names, and key for you. Spend more time making music...spend less time picking out the notes.
Real-time. Use your voice or analog instrument as a realtime midi controller or record directly into a sequencer. No need for expensive midi pickups!
Expression capture. IntelliScore faithfully recreates effects such as pitch bend, vibrato, tremolo, and portamento when the wave or mp3 audio is monophonic."
3. http://www.midi.ru/AudioToMidi/download.html
Audio to Midi coverter. Also spectrum analyzer. Free.
 
I really didn't know Finale could handle that. I checked Codamusic website and it says that it can do music notation for non-MIDI instruments, solo and even chords! Great!

Those other softs AlChuck mentioned I've never heard about, but the samples on the website seems to be very good! I'm going to download the demos to see if the notation is satisfatory and try it during the weekend!

Thanks a lot guys! I though this technology (if existed) would be really hard to find and expensive! If it works it's going to cut a lot of time of manual working!
 
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